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Fable: The Return Chapter 46
Chapter 46 Since his victory over Knight, Henry has been at the mercy of his mind and soul. In his frozen state he faced the darkest nightmares and some of his most beautiful dreams. In some of his dreams he saw himself as a noble knight... or a powerful wizard. And in others he dreamt he was an evil warrior. Yet no matter his alignment or power, each dream ended the same way: His dreams met their end by seeing his wife and son again. In these dreams, the world was white and seamless. Henry walked along an invisible pathway in silence towards a large wooden hut on the distant horizon. For a brief time, Henry forgot his injuries as his pace quickened on the nonexistent path. Henry began to make out the details of the wooden home on the horizon. It had a long staircase leading to a dark green door. Above the door rested a large wooden bannister with familiar runes carved on its surface, runes that Henry recognized as the ones that hung over his own abode in Knothole: Welcome to the man that walks from the chopping block. One lone torch rested on a stand in front of the staircase; It shed warm, yet unneeded, light on the strong oaken stairs. Henry passed the torch and placed a foot on the first step, the front door creaked open. Henry lifted another foot and placed it on the second step, the door opened slightly more. Slowly, Henry picked up his pace and was then walking up the stairs. The door opened fully, revealing only a dark opening with nothing lying within. Henry ran up the stairs all the way to the top and stood in front of the door. From out of the dark opening left by the open door, a foot stepped onto the porch. The floorboards creaked under the pressure like they had not been trod on for years. A crack came from behind Henry, he turned to see the torch fall from its stand and light the stairs on fire. From out of the darkness, a woman followed the foot. She wore bright clothes, though they seemed dimmer than they should. Her skin was grey and withered; her eyes were white. In her arms she carried a grey skinned baby. The little boy looked to its father and smiled wide, his teeth were red with blood. "Savannah," Henry began, "my love... is it really you? You look beautiful." Henry smiled and embraced his wife, not seeming to see the undead creatures before him. The home around him burned and blackened; the fire surrounded the embrace and soon all fell away to ash. Henry held the pieces of Knight's mask in his hands. His muscles ached, his bones cried out in pain; Henry was weak. In a swift effort, he lifted himself off the ground and attempted to stand. His body screamed at the use of such force, but he remained standing none the less. Dreams... were they all dreams? Henry searched his immediate surrounding and despairingly found nothing. Father? Reaver? He paused, as if something captured his attention; there was a light whisper in the brisk wind. Jack Laughter. "Come out you devil!" Henry secured the pieces of Knight's mask in his bag. "I know you're out there... I know your wicked cackles!" "Cackles," the distant echo responded, "do you take me for a witch?" "I take you for a monster." "Shame, I'd thought I'd had more of an impression on you from our little talk." "Show yourself!" Laughter came from behind Henry. He quickly turned to see Snowspire in the distance. "The city... you're going to raze the city!" Laughter again, this time it came from over his left shoulder. Henry turned to see the snowy landscape covered in blood and corpses from the battle. What's your plan, demon? Where are you? Jack's laughter erupted loudly once more over Henry's left shoulder. He threw his fist around in a broad swing... but it met no body. His strike found only empty air, and his eyes met the hellish sight of the Bronze Gate's doors wide open. "Come, come Hero. I am waiting for you." Henry took off in a sprint out of Archon's Shrine and onto the dark path to the Bronze Gate. The bright sun seemed to rapidly fall towards the horizon; it was as if this plane of the world attracted darkness... enough to bend the will of the sun. The sky grew darker, the snow turned to ash, and the trees changed from already mangled black branches to iron cages holding the souls of the damned. Their voices cried to him; they clamored for their freedom. Henry stopped, half considering their begging screams. He looked into their eyes, they were cold and dark. "I cannot help you, no matter your weeping. Once Jack is destroyed, maybe there will be freedom for you." Henry slowly strode away as the cries grew louder and full of anger rather than misery. He began his ascent of the ebony stairs covered in a thick layer of blackened snow. They sky burned with a fiery red, casting a bleeding shadow over the landscape. The peak of the stairs came with a greeting of two obsidian statues; one depicting the laughing skull of a dragon, the other a terrifying warrior clad in spiny armor and a head of demon horns. "Come, Hero. Enter my dominion." Henry took several moments to ponder the coming events. He stared deeply through the great opening of the gates, trying to see past the dense fog. The Bronze Gate kept its secrets even when open, for a blood-red cloud enveloped the opening. Those who wish to see what lies beyond, must venture beyond. Henry took one deep inhale of air and stepped through the thick mist. Darkness. Black. Red. Jack? Father? What is this place? Where am I? Savannah? Savannah! My boy! You're here... it wasn't a dream. Was it? No, it couldn't have been. You're here with me! You should have seen the dream I had... you wouldn't believe it. I met my father, and... I liked him. It was like I was a child again. And... and you were dead. You and the boy were killed by these... monsters! Oh my love, I'm so happy that it was all just a... dream... wait. Where are you going? Savannah! No no no! Don't leave me here! Don't let me die in this... darkness. Black. Red. Jack? Father? What is this place? "Open your eyes, boy!" Henry came back to his senses in the middle of hell. Wind swam in wide circles around him spinning ash and smoke. Hundreds of black statues surrounded the pit of boiling lava below his feet. He stood on the very edge of the cliff, one step away from certain demise. But where was Jack? "Look beyond the flame," Jack said from behind Henry. "Look to the burning land past this pit."'' Henry looked over the lava below and saw a vast stretch of land. Fire burned its surface, wind churned the ashes, and terrible creatures roamed. He listened to their moans, and winced at their shrill screams. "''This, Hero, is Archon's Folly. At least that is what your people call it. Ages ago, during the reign of the great Archons, this was home to a unique creature. They were much like humans, only slightly larger... and more keen to create violence. their skin was pale, their voices deep, and their minds were greedy. Your people called them Nephilim." "What happened to them?" Henry asked while looking at the hulking creatures wander in the darkness. "An Archon by the name of Reminus Black did this. Once this land was the epicenter of life and nature, it was a wonder to behold. That was until a young Nephilim murdered a man from a nearby human village." "Why did he do it?" "I never said the young one was a he. The human man tried to seduce the young Nephilim, she did not take that very well. When she denied his advances, the man grew angry. He attempted to force himself upon her, but the Nephilim are strong. She crushed the man's skull like walnut. The humans in the nearby village became so enraged that they called for the Archon to strike down his fist of justice. Reminus wielded all the power descended from his bloodline to desecrate this land. He turned the home of my children into this burning underworld that you see before you." "They were your children?" "Not in the sense that you humans call your children... I created them. I molded them from the earth and imbued them with my power. They were meant to rise above humans and take over, giving power back to my siblings and I. It was my goal to wipe out the line of Archon's in secret while we regained power. My creations, my children, would have enslaved the human race and reclaimed our Albion!" "Why are you telling me this, Jack?" "You will know." Henry felt his body turn around. He was then met face to face with a charred skeleton's skull with burning eyes. Jack covered his torso with a dark red cloak and wore a hood to cover most of his skull. "Beneath your feet, my mask lies dormant... it calls to me, it begs to be reclaimed! It's only wish is to once again be worn. I will grant its wish, Hero!" Henry swiftly grabbed his claymore and held it between him and Jack. He raised it to swing. Jack laughed, the lower jaw of the skull bouncing p and down with his voice. "Foolish boy." Henry's blade lit to flame, cracked, then crumbled into a mound at his feet. "Why have you brought me to this place?" "You are the one that came. I did not force you to heed more words." "It was my duty to destroy you." "And what means do you have now to accomplish this feat? No, Hero, you will not destroy me this day. You will witness my resurrection!" Henry reached out to grab Jack's jaw. He clenched it tightly and squeezed. Jack began laughing maniacally once more. Henry crushed the jaw, and the lights went out. The skull's eyes grew dark and hollow. Henry watched as the skeleton and cloak toppled into their own heap next to his shattered blade. Henry smirked and looked around, not seeing the black mist that rose from the broken bones. "What?" The black mist flew by Henry's face and shot down below into the molten rock. Henry fell to the edge of the cliff on his hands and knees, awaiting what doom may come. Maybe he is dead now. That mask couldn't have survived this long in such an environment. He must be dead. Henry began to stand, then he heard the bubbling of lava. Henry watched the lava swell, it rose higher and higher to where it nearly flowed over the land where he stood. A small black mass flew out of the burning pit; it hovered there, level with Henry's eyes. The deep red cloak joined its master, forming a hollow shell of Jack's form. Jack's mask glowed red and spouted small flames along the various cracks etched into its surface. Lava from centuries of heating and cooling had formed a shell of solid obsidian, turning the mask black. Jack's eyes burned, they stared into Henry's eyes with all the fire gained from centuries of waiting beneath a lake of flame.